Bringing diverse, high-profile musical acts to the Carrier Dome is a refreshing way to provide entertainment for Syracuse University and the surrounding community.

Country music singer Luke Bryan announced his 2016 “Kill the Lights” tour dates on Tuesday, which included a spring concert in the Carrier Dome on April 9, 2016. This is the second biggest concert the Dome has housed in the last academic year since Billy Joel performed there in March.

It should be a goal for Carrier Dome event organizers to host performers that appeal to a variety of music genres at least once per academic year. These events attract wider audiences and serve as an opportunity to connect the university to the central New York community. 

The majority of musical acts brought to the SU campus are organized by University Union; however, the group provides a limited range of musical performances and primarily brings electronic and rap artists in efforts to appeal to the student demographic. But these acts do not interest all students and often exclude genres.

For this reason, the university should consistently work to broaden its concert lineup by continuing to bring acts like Luke Bryan and Billy Joel to campus. These performances provide entertainment opportunities that are in walking distance for students and have the potential to attract people from across central New York.

These acts bring larger crowds into Syracuse, which in turn fuels the local economy and is a positive way to engage the local community directly with SU.

However, event organizers must remain conscious of any logistical problems that may arise from holding events of this scale. During the Billy Joel concert earlier this year, concertgoers cited a lack of instruction, heavy traffic and parking problems as weak points of event organization.

Moving forward, organizers should look for solutions to these problems to ensure that the Luke Bryan concert and similar events remain accessible and comfortable for attendees. Solving these problems are even more critical if the Dome is to become a destination for big concert events once per year.

The Carrier Dome is a fixture on the SU campus, but bringing in a high-profile performer annually will ensure that its reach extends to more students and to the central New York community.

Published on October 21, 2015 at 12:13 am

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